Five for Friday - 3/4/11

1. At fancy restaurants you don't blink about ordering a glass of wine before dinner...even though it costs $20+

2. You started saying "winning."

3. You thanked me for taking you to Longwood Gardens.

4. You enjoy spending time with my family almost as much as I do.

5. You get excited about new low calorie recipes.

Hanukah 2003

I've got laundry coming out my ears!

Seriously ya'll it's out of control!  I don't mind doing laundry it's just the folding that I keep putting off.  We now have 3 loads sitting on our bed waiting to be folded & put away.  I used to just do it first thing in the morning, put a load in the washer when I get in the shower & fold the load in the dryer when I got out.  But for some reason I just can't get up the motivation to do it lately.  The worst is when the hamper gets full so I have to wash more but there's no where to put it...  This morning I decided it was time do something.  I started folding and then time got away from me and the next thing I knew it was 7:40 and I had to get moving.  Hopefully that explains a little about my boring OOTD I just threw on what was close by.  I'm wearing a brown cable knit sweater from Old Navy that I got at least a year ago with a beige cami from New York & Company.  The pants are mustard with a brown plaid pattern from Anne Talyor Loft and my shoes are Naturalizer from last winter, they have cute little tassels!

As I said I was running low on time so I couldn't put together a decent breakfast.  I had a glass of Trop 50 (= 50 calories) when I took my pills then whipped up a protein shake (= 347 calories) and out the door I went.

You may be wondering what Joe was doing this whole time.  Well, he wasn't home; Joe was assisting the police department with a sober testing event.  He left around 7 to go to Ocean County where at 9ish he began drinking beers so that they can practice sobriety testing on him & others.  Apparently the record is 17 beers, he was hoping to put down a case, but managed to drink 13.  I'm pretty sure it's his dream, volunteer work where he gets to drink...then he has just enough time to sober up before heading to the Flyers game with John using tickets from xmas.  My day consists of work & kickboxing class, not fair.


For the first time in a while I was actually hungry at noon.  My lunch wasn't anything exciting except that I brought a granola bar instead of a 100 snack... = 347 calories.

I was pretty bummed because my normal kickboxing buddies couldn't make it to class that night.  But I was proud of myself because it didn't occur to me to bail.  In the past I would have immediately celebrated that I didn't have to go since everyone else was out but not this Thursday, I just planned on going alone.  I even posted on Facebook that I was sad to be going alone but I was still going.  Apparently Angela read my status and Rob said why don't you go?  So she decided to come keep me company!  It's so strange how the class size fluctuates, last week there were probably 15 people in class then last night 6...  Here's the shot I grabbed during cool down.

By the time class was over I was starving!  Angela suggested going to Wendy's so she could get a frosty but I wasn't feeling it, I was feeling Chido Burrito!  She almost had me convinced not to go since I hadn't spent any money yet but then I remembered I had the DoubleTakeDeals coupon!  I went a little crazy with the eating, not only finishing off my burrito but also having some chips = 1107 calories.

I spent the rest of the evening relaxing on the couch watching The Bachelor & Grey's Anatomy.  It was really nice to just sit on the couch by myself for a while and watch what I wanted on tv.  Joe should go out drinking all day more often!  Just kidding dear :-)  Oh right...and I folded those 3 loads of laundry before I went to bed...


How did I do on my March goals?
1. Read 2 books:  almost finished "Sleeping Naked is Green"...although that won't count since I've been working on it for 3 months...
2. Burn at least 750 calories a day for at least 25 days: 2674 burned - 1911 eaten = 763 burned, 1 days total
3. 1200 fitness minutes: 60 minutes today, 100 total for month
4. Eat 1 fruit or veggie with each meal for at least 20 days: banana w/dinner, 2 days total
5. 15 spend free days - just a gift card for dinner!  1 days total...

Jumping on the Wagon

That's right, Joe joined the gym today!  Well actually he joined yesterday but he went for the first time Wednesday morning.  I was so proud when he got out of bed at 7:15 because he needed to get a workout in before work!  Although as he was telling me to have a good day because he wasn't sure he'd be back before I left for work I realized I was losing my OOTD photographer!  It only took me 4 tries to get this shot.  If I stand my camera up on the stove and then run over to where the cat food is I can fit my whole body in the picture.  Like how Ian is trying to steal the spotlight?  Today I'm wearing a two-in-one scoop neck sweater shirt from New York & Company (that's right I have it in 2 colors) with an almost perfectly matched cami from the same store (shocking I know).  On the bottom I've got the twill columnist pant from Express with my Naturalizer Eleanor Cambridge grey heels.  You can see how my foot's still up from running across the room, lol.

I'm really trying to get all my fruits & veggies this month so I made sure to have a banana with my breakfast.  Kashi Go Lean Crunch with 1% milk & said banana = 336 calories.  And imagine my surprise when Joe came walking in the door 5 minutes before I had to leave for work!  He wanted to be sure I had my picture taken care of!  :-)

In other news I've finally been granted permission to purchase 1 pair of yoga pants from Old Navy.  They were originally $19.50 but I found a 10% off coupon bringing them to $17.55 then used a $10 reward card I received and free shipping code so in total they were $7.55!  I will treasure them always.

I wasn't hungry as lunch time approached again but I decided to go eat anyway.  There was a little drama the last time I changed my eating time because there weren't enough seats for everyone in our little makeshift break room (I offered to move but I that wasn't good enough).  Anyway, for lunch I cut up an apple first but it just didn't taste right, the consistency & flavor were off.  Luckily I had plenty of options packed = 277 calories.

In other exciting news:

That's right!  I beat Joe at WORDS with friends!

I always pack clothes for an indoor workout when I leave for work in the morning.  I figure this way no matter what happens I'm prepared to at least go run on the treadmill.  It was a good thing I did today because Rob & Angela decided to play tennis in the nice weather so I was on my own for my 3 mile run.

My run went well, I decided to set the machine at 5.5 again and just go with it.  I finished in almost exactly 33 minutes and I wasn't really worn out, I mean I was super sweaty but not really out of breath, maybe next time I'll try 5.6.  I've been trying to come up with more interesting gym pictures because I'm running out of free clip art options.  So that's me at the end of my run, I love the look on my face, I'm like "I hope no one sees me being a total loser and taking my picture here at the gym."

Joe & I managed to squeeze in an 8:15 reservation at Dock's Oyster House for dinner.  On Shana & Bill's recommendation we had been hoping to try it but they seemed to be booked solid all week.  I checked open table in the morning and saw an 8pm opening, perfect!  This way I could get my run in and since Joe was working until 7 we could make it.  I texted Joe to see if I should grab it but by the time he wrote me back the reservation was gone and the only other opening was for 8:45 and that just seemed too late.  I wanted to give it one last try so I called the restaurant and asked to make a reservation; he said they were pretty busy but they could get us in at 8:15, YAY!

We might as well have just taken the 8:45 because we weren't seated until almost 8:30 anyway.  Turns out Joe knows one of the bartenders from working at Circuit City.  I had a glass of Riesling (= 120 calories) while they caught up and we waited for our table.  Once they sat down we got to see just how packed it was, we were packed in like sardines.  Once again the I felt like the waiter treated us like second class citizens when we ordered from the prix fixe menu.  I feel like saying "it's still a $66+ check!  You'll get a decent tip!" 

Luckily they served as a team & the 2 other gentlemen helping us were quite nice.  First, we were served enormous dinner rolls = 168 calories.  For my first course I had the Main Clam Chowder, it was extremely hot but very good when it cooled down, I only ate about 1/2 of the bowl = 161 calories.  I liked Joe's Corn & Crab Chowder better though, it very was sweet. 

For dinner I chose the Baked Flounder (filled with crab meat, served with a tomato cream sauce and asparagus).  The flounder was a little dry but if you stirred it around in the sauce it made a huge difference.  I only ate about 1/2 of what they served me = 310 calories.  Joe ordered the Panko Crusted Chesapeake Oysters (freshly shucked, quickly fried, served with house made tartar sauce) on Bill's recommendation and they were very good.  I don't think I've had oysters before but you could probably fry anything and make it delicious.  For dessert I ordered the Key Lime Pie with freshly whipped cream (= 450 calories) and it was so fantastic!  The best part is that Joe doesn't like Key Lime so it was all mine!  By the time we got the check and headed home it was almost 10pm and we were exhausted.  We went straight home and into bed!

How did I do on my March goals?

1. Read 2 books:  didn't get any reading done

2. Burn at least 750 calories a day for at least 25 days: 2335 burned - 1822 eaten = 513 burned, 0 days total

3. 1200 fitness minutes: 40 minutes today, 40 total for month

4. Eat 1 fruit or veggie with each meal for at least 20 days: banana  w/breakfast, orange w/lunch, asparagus w/dinner, 1 days total

5. 15 spend free days - yoga pants & water, 0 days total...

Doesn't look so lion like to me...

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb; but with today's sunny skies and almost 50 degree high I'm not buying it.  Hopefully things will stay nice and calm the rest of the month, I'd love to start playing tennis and running outside without being blown away.

I had the day off from the gym on Tuesday (I try to take 2 days off a week) and we had dinner plans with my dad & sister/Bill so I decided to dress up a little.  This OOTD is a sweater dress from Ann Taylor Loft that Joe got me for xmas, I'm not loving the way it's clinging in the middle, hopefully I adjusted the ruching better the rest of the day.  It's a little low cut so I added a black cami from New York & Company to match the argyle tights from Kohls.  I'm not usually into the whole mixing black and brown thing but these tights allow for it so I decided to go with black shoes.  I must have tried on 4 different boots and 2 pairs of heels before Joe voted for the Macy's slouchy boots.  I decided to skip a necklace thinking I had enough going on already but now I'm thinking it probably could have used something...

I asked Joe to drop me off at work because our dinner reservation was out past my office and it wouldn't make any sense for me to drive home and then turn around and drive back out that way again.  He suggested we get breakfast across the street before heading out so we went over and told Mike we were in a hurry.  I had two eggs over medium with rye toast = 365 calories.

I was only about 5 minutes late for work so everything worked out ok.  We also got the mechanic to squeeze my car in for an oil change and alignment so I'm checking things off my list left and right.  Lunch time came and went without as much as a pang of hunger.  Around 1:15 I finally decided I should probably eat something so I wouldn't screw up my whole schedule.  Mandarin orange, apple, banana & greek yogurt = 342 calories.

My afternoon was very productive, I checked one task off my list of must get dones for the week.  Joe came to get me promptly at 5pm and we drove to Egg Harbor City for dinner.  It took us less time then I anticipated to get to the restaurant so we killed some time playing WORDS with friends in the parking lot and I caught up on my twitter feed.  We were meeting up with my dad, sister & Bill for dinner partially cause we like them and partially because it's Atlantic City's Restaurant Week.  Certain establishments in the area sign up to be a part of the event and then create a prix fixe menu for $33 per person.  We usually try to visit a few new places each year but this week we're having problems finding reservation times that match up to our schedules.

My dad wanted to try Tre Figlio and none of us had been there before so we made a 6pm reservation and had no trouble getting a table.

Even with our play time in the car, Joe & I were still probably 15 minutes early so we went inside to have a drink at the bar.  I chose a cucumber martini = 130 calories.  You've probably noticed that I don't do a lot of drinking anymore (too many wasted calories), needless to say this one drink was all I needed to make me feel all warm & fuzzy.

I was absolutely starving so as soon as we sat down at the table I dove into the bread = 107 calories.  It was ok, nothing special, I probably would have passed on it if I wasn't famished. 

The menu consisted of an appetizer, entree & dessert, you were allowed to chose one of each.  I have to say I think the waitress was a little rude to us once we said we were having the fixed menu, like we weren't worth her time anymore.  Anyway, the food was still good.  I chose the stuffed mushroom caps (fresh mushroom caps stuffed with ricotta cheese, bacon, onions & horseradish) = 472 calories for my starter.  They were very good! 

For my entree I chose the Spinach and Crab Ravioli = 275 calories (fresh spinach and crab ravioli served in an alfredo sauce).  I really enjoyed it, licked my plate clean!

And for dessert I chose the homemade ricotta cheese pie.  I don't know why I always try it because I never like it.  I think I get confused because I like cheesecake & ricotta cheese so I figure it has to be a win.  It's so not, I only ate like 1/3 (122 calories) of it before passing it on to anyone else who wanted some.

We hung out at the table for a little while catching up after we ate.  I think Shana & Bill, well mostly Bill are totally going to be those people that talk about their pet all the time.  It was funny because Bill even said he hates when people only talk about their kids all the time and he's not trying to be that way with the dog.  Then he went into another story about the dog, lol, it's adorable how happy he is about having a dog again though.  I'm sure it's just because Shaggy's new.  I didn't even bother logging my food until we were in the car on the way home.  I knew it was going to be a disaster especially since I hadn't worked out.  We were home by about 8:30 and I wanted to try watching a little tv because the DVR is crazy full but Joe kept falling asleep on the couch.  We went upstairs around 9, I watched a little tv then passed out.  My first day with March goals was a total bust, lol...

How did I do on my March goals?

1. Read 2 books:  didn't get any reading done

2. Burn at least 750 calories a day for at least 25 days: 1909 burned - 1814 eaten = 95 burned, 0 days total

3. 1200 fitness minutes: 0 minutes today, 0 total for month

4. Eat 1 fruit or veggie with each meal for at least 20 days: nothing  w/breakfast, apple, orange & banana w/lunch, mushroom w/dinner, 0 days total

5. 15 spend free days - I paid $100 for the work at the mechanic, 0 days total...

March Madness

It's a new month and I'm this much closer to turning the big 3-0.  I think my goals last month went pretty well and I'm excited to see what I can do with 3 extra days this month!  Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Read 2 books - I'm bringing this one back again because I failed so badly in February.  I can't believe I didn't even finish reading 1 book!

2. Total burn of at least 750 calories a day for at least 25 of 31 days - It seems like a 750+ burn is best for me.  When I tried 500+ I didn't lose any weight but when I upped it to 750+ I managed 2-4 lbs depending on how you look at it.  I've given myself less cheat days too.

3. 1200 fitness minutes & I'm not allowed to count walking at the restaurant - I've been able to complete 1000 the last 2 months without any real issue so I'm going to try for a 200 more this month.  I don't think it should be too difficult especially with my longer distance runs taking more time now.

4. Eat 1 fruit or veggie with each meal for 20 of 31 days - I failed this one miserably last month so I'm trying again...

5. 15 spend-free days - I blew 10 days out of the water last month with my new financial advisor boyfriend so now I'm shooting for 5 more.

February Wrap Up

Well, another month has come and gone.  I think February was a really great 28 days for me!  I feel good, I think Joe and I had some really great times together and I managed to take off 2 lbs!  Time to review what I said I'd do this month and what I actually did...

1. Read 2 books - I didn't even finish the one I started in January.  What a let down.

2. Total burn of at least 750 calories a day for at least 20 of 28 days - I made it 22 of 28 days!  Plus I managed to take some more weight off again!

3. 1000 fitness minutes & I'm not allowed to count walking at the restaurant - My total was 1180 for the month!

4. Eat 1 fruit or veggie with each meal for 20 of 28 days - I bombed this one big time.  I only got 12 of 20 days.

5. 10 spend-free days - My plan to bring Joe in as my financial advisor worked beautifully, I was spend free for 14 days!

edit: I forgot to review our goals as a couple and my yearly goals...

2011 - in progress list
1. Complete the Broad St run = 10 miles: I'm signed up and still training...
2. Complete some part of the 38th Annual American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon: Any ideas for another athletic event I can sub in?
3. Lose final 20 lbs = weigh in at 130: only 16 lbs to go!
4. Pay off 1 major credit card:  Visa is paid off!
5. Make grad school plans: I meant to sign up for testing in February but didn't.  I'm going to be better this month I swear.
6. Spend more quality time alone with Joe: 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!
7. Wear a bikini in public: Not warm enough of that little clothing yet.
8. Use my sewing machine: It's still in the box & the box has been moved to the attic!
9. ...to be continued...: Haven't thought of anything new yet.  Any ideas?

Couple's Goals 
1. We will set a timer and both spend 15 minutes doing nothing but cleaning at least 3x a week: I deleted this one because it was too hard to track - but our house is totally clean enough...
2. De-clutter our lives, spend at least 2 hours each week deep cleaning/organizing:  I deleted this one because it was too hard to track - but I'm having a clothing swap this month to help get rid of things...
3. Visit 3 new places:  We went to Longwood Gardens for the first time, 1 down!
4. Do at least one outdoor activity together a month:  Longwood Gardens was primarily outside!
5. One date night a month:  We planned on Red Robin & a movie but ran out of movie time, still counts :-)
6. Go camping at least once this year:  Too cold for camping...
7. One new recipe a month:  Joe went a little crazy on the new recipes this month, I think we're counting the pot roast for this month.
8. Go on a big vacation together:  We haven't made anymore plans for our trip in August with my mom, Shana & Bil but we may have somewhere to stay in Utah!
9. Spend more time with family, I'm shooting for once a month:  We didn't spend any time with any of them together this month...  But we already have dinner plans with my dad for tonight (3/1)
10. Finish 1 major project:  After the trip to Longwood we've got big plans for the backyard...

How is it Monday already?

As great of a time as I had spending the day with Joe on Sunday it totally screwed up my inner schedule.  I was not ready for Monday morning yet, I hadn't cleaned out the DVRs or written my weekend blog posts or done any laundry.  I am aware that these aren't extremely important things but still I just wasn't ready for it to be back to the big girl job time.  I just needed another day off and unfortunately, I wasn't going to get one.  I got my butt out of bed and started my day.  OOTD: a grey sweater from Ann Taylor Loft with a tank from New York & Company, at first I put on a bright blue one but for some reason it wasn't working with the black pants so I switched to purple instead (which is funny because 1/2 my office was wearing purple).  The necklace is from a Premier party I attended a year or two ago, the pants are from Express and the shoes are Naturalizer Carnivale.  I'm hating my hair again in this picture, I don't know why it stands up like that in the back.

When I went downstairs to figure out some breakfast I came across this package of goldfish shaped sandwich thins on the counter.  I'm pretty sure they're from Nicole, isn't she the best?!?  I'm excited to use them; I wonder if they taste cheesy?  That would be a great invention!

Instead of making a sandwich I wanted to get working on our bananas before they go bad so I had a bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch = 336 calories.

 My morning flew by and I didn't think I was hungry for lunch until Dawn mentioned she was going.  Then my stomach was all like, food now!  Joe picked me up a different brand of yogurt because they were on sale, but it seemed pretty much the same to me.  Lunch = 318 calories.

My workout plan was a quick 3 mile run at the gym since the weather was super crappy.  Island was having a fitness frenzy celebration so there were a lot of new people and trainers wandering around trying to get everyone amped up about exercise.  I didn't mind because I got to the treadmill of my choice quickly and it gave me something to look at when I got bored of the tv.  I set the machine at a 5.5 and just went with it, finished in 32:48!  I'm pretty proud of myself because I chose to run in a sleeveless shirt!  It was one that Angela passed on to me because she didn't love the fit, I will say they are a little shorter then I'd like but overall not bad.  This is a huge deal because I've hated my arms for as long as I can remember and I'm finally happy enough with them to let them jiggle in public!

There had been some vague plans of possibly meeting friends for a drink but they fell through so Joe and I got home at pretty much the same time.  The only issue was that we hadn't taken anything out for dinner because of said possible plans.  No worries though, we had plenty of leftovers and lunch options to use.  I made myself a smoked turkey and american cheese sandwich on a whole wheat ciabatta roll = 490 calories.

We retired to the couch and watched a little tv (Mentalist & Fringe) before deciding to have a fancy dessert.  Joe found it in a Men's Health magazine a year or so ago and it's now our go to "healthy" dessert.  It's quick and easy, some no sugar added vanilla ice cream with 1/2 a heated pluot (plum apricot hybrid) and a little cinnamon.  I went a little overboard with 2 servings of ice cream so it was a little higher in calories then usual at 220 calories.

After dessert we tried for one more show (No Ordinary Family) but I fell asleep 1/2 way through.  Obviously it was time for bed so we called it a night.

How did I do on my February goals?

1. Read 2 books:  didn't get any reading done

2. Burn at least 750 calories a day for at least 20 days: 2233 burned - 1364 eaten = 869 burned, 22 days total (goal met)

3. 1000 fitness minutes, not allowed to count walking at the restaurant: 35 minutes today, 1180 total for month (goal met)

4. Eat 1 fruit or veggie with each meal for at least 20 days: banana w/breakfast, apple & orange w/lunch, pluot w/dessert, 12 days total

5. 10 spend free days - kept my money in my pocket, 14 days total (goal met)...